Indian Cottage Industries

Our place, Indian Cottage Industries, is located at A-9/8 in Kaysth Tola. It’s right by Prahlad Ghat in Varanasi. If you’ve ever walked down those lanes, you know how narrow and winding they are. It’s a very old part of the city, and our building reflects that. It’s a bit cramped and the walls are thick, keeping things relatively cool even when the sun is beating down on the Ganga. We do a lot of traditional work here, the kind of things that require steady hands and a lot of patience. It’s not a modern factory by any means. There’s no high-tech air conditioning, just a few ceiling fans that wobble a bit. We get a lot of noise from the street outside—people shouting, bells from the temples, and the occasional cow wandering past. It’s a lively place to work, if a bit distracting. Our day usually starts early before the heat gets too bad. We have a small group of workers who have been doing this their whole lives. We don't really have a "brand" in the way big companies do. We just make what we make and hope people like it. The address can be hard to find for outsiders, so we usually tell them to head toward Prahlad Ghat and look for the Kaysth Tola sign. It’s a simple life, focused on the craft and the community around the ghats.